Blur the Line: Those Darlins gut Rock N Roll and Make it New Again

Those Darlins are hitting the road with the release of their third album! Those Darlins formed in Nashville in a college town just outside of their hometown, Murfreesboro, TN. Their hometown had a pretty good music scene and through that scene they were able to meet, find similar interests and started playing together. Jessi had wanted to become a Veterinarian or a homeopathic healer, each great professions to get into, but lucky for us she found the guitar and these fine folks. In a way Those Darlins are healers as music can be therapeutic. Blur the Line is certainly proof of that.

Blur the Line melds the different styles that encapsulate them. Those Darlins are; Jessi on guitar and vocals, Nikki on guitar and vocals, Linwood on drums, and a newly added bassist Adrian Barrera who they met on tour a couple years ago. They bring their punk rock, soul, and straight up rock and roll influence to the forefront on this masterful album. They do not “blur the lines” they take the inside reaction from outside influences, which Jessi was kind of enough to tell me in a recent interview, and slap it on this thirteen song album.

This first track “Oh God” kicks it all off with a slow build into a rock and roll ending. Asking “Oh God what I have done?” As the album progresses they keep the punk and rock influence on this record driving, with songs such as “Optimist” and “Drive.” Towards the end of the album “Western Sky” has just an easy driving melody with the chant of “I don’t want to hear another civilized war, let’s make our own noise.” That could sum it all up, but as the album comes to a close with the last track “Ain’t Afraid”, the vocals get gritty and the wall of sound bleeds through the straight up rock n’ roll that has driven the album.

For these folks this album isn’t a coming of age, rather, this album brings the listener to where they are right now in their musical lives. Sure, growing up with Appalachian songs is at their core, but they have found their sound and they are running with it. The record was wrote over the course of two years and according to Jessi, “The goal was to write a new album, because we are musicians, and that is our job. We wanted to represent ourselves and where we were at as people. It’s kind of like therapy ya know? We’re all crazy people we need music to make something positive out of it.” This album definitely conveys that emotion and feeling. With the help of Roger Moutenot of Haptown Studios in Nashville, the producer of the album, who helped them pick out 14 tracks to focus on the album keeping that feeling alive and present. No looking back just moving and living in the moment.

On the wings of this third album, produced by Roger Moutenot and created by Those Darlins, hopefully the sky is merely the beginning. They will be taking this record and their live show across the US, and hopefully around the world. Those Darlins did something with this album Blur the Line... they hit the refresh button on rock n roll, they gutted it and made it new again. It was a refreshing listen to my ears. Cincinnati we have the honor of welcoming them back on Sunday October 20th at the Northside Tavern. I’d get your tickets soon!